Thank You Mr. Governor, But People Need Toilets

You need not to belabour so much to determine a society's public health indexing. Toilets have much to tell about our seriousness. This is it: Those who see no reason to build toilets have no solid reason to protect lives.

Put it this way: We [should] simply "measure" the respect people (are accorded or) accord themselves by the quality - and perhaps the quantity - of places they set aside for defecation. 

I know for a fact that people are easily inclined to be closer to those who protect their dignity. For me, nothing else is closer to human dignity than an environment that promotes life and creates opportunities for those who live therein.

All our juicy plans will, I believe, amount to a zero-sum game if the simple things that touch our people are omitted. 

A toilet is a critical component of public health. A society that defecates in the open, in the bushes and/or along water paths is a society living a lie. A leadership that ignores this fact is also living a lie. Something must - urgently- be done. 

Straight to the point: Turkana County is facing a serious public health challenge. It is literally "toiletless". Open defecation is the norm. Many years of (internal) neglect have created a society grounded in low self-esteem. A society that values not the privacy of individuals.

Blame not Nairobi for this. The centre has got nothing to do with building toilets and ensuring a clean, secure environment for those at the peripheries of the nation. The few professionals - and leaders - dotting these lands must shoulder the blame. They have failed to transmit the message to the people. They are blind to the plight of those who are killed - daily - by cholera.

And so my beef is directed to the big man himself. (By the way this is an open note to Turkana Governor, Hon. Josphat Nanok). 

Sir, I know your government has purchased a good number of ambulances. Evidently, our mothers have little to worry about and labour period is no more a death sentence. I find this noble and worth praising!

Secondly, your administration has put up health facilities and posted health workers to (even) hitherto forgotten pockets of Turkana. We hereby commend you and your team for this good job.

Thirdly, the only referral health facility in the region is being spruced up to meet, and (to) respond to the needs of our people. I read - and hear from those on the ground - that services have greatly improved. Again, on behalf of our people, I say  hongera!

Meanwhile, we reserve the right to remind you something. You have marginalised public health sector. You have done little to harness the goodies attached to it. You have "forgotten" to live up to your promise. 

Public health is the foundation of a healthy community. It is the first step to a robust health-care system. It is here that maladies are detected and/or prevented. Public health determines the "sacrality" of our daily engagements – both as a community and as individuals.

Mark you; public health cannot just be tied to provision of toilets alone. Anyway, let's face it: A toilet is the starting point of a committed public health advocate. Look, who passes even a day without visiting these hallowed places?

This extraordinary thought is, without a doubt, what must guide our interventions vis-a-vis public health matters. It is, at least in its implementation, that the dream of our people will find a solid foundation.

I know it will work:

(a) We have many under-employed people wandering aimlessly in our midst. It is only justified to turn their energies to something meaningful if we really value them.

(b) Walk around our villages and you will discover one of our underexploited resources: We have many knowledgeable women and youth who can be roped in as stakeholders in this toilet issue. 

(c) We have limited water resources. We have no luxury to turn any available water point to a free-for-all public toilet. We are morally and legally obliged to protect them. 

Surely, it does not augur well to read that 1) a county blessed with vast oil wealth, huge tracts of land good for agriculture and real estate development is among Kenya's top counties whose residents defecate in the open; and 2) that 80% of its population is in dire need of help to avert a public health crisis.

Again, it is a sad reality when one comes to understand that a majority of people over there rely on shallow wells for their water needs yet no measures have been put in place to ensure underground water is safe for human consumption.

So, isn't it logical to ask some hard questions? What future do we build for our people? Do we care for those down our development pyramids?

Back to the top; Mr. Governor, you have a golden chance to ink your name in our hearts and minds. Just build toilets!

Lemukol Ng'asike is an architect. Email:  lemoseh89@gmail.com.  Twitter:   @mlemukol.